If you want to grow your business, you’ve got to grow your customer base. So what are the best B2B customer acquisition strategies to do that?

You may be tempted to try every strategy out there in an effort to expand your client base, but that could end up being a waste of time. Instead of wasting your precious resources trying everything under the sun—it’s best to focus your time and attention.

There are a few ideas that have proven to be effective and we’ve outlined 3 strategies below help you acquire the customers you need in 2017 and beyond.

Review and Improve Your SEO

The way Google and other search engines rank website continues to change and is becoming increasingly sophisticated. There are several ways you can upgrade your SEO so that customers can find your site more easily.

For example, being mobile-friendly is vital these days. Instead of sitting in front of a laptop or desktop computer, people are now using their mobile devices to find the information they need.

If your company website isn’t optimized for mobile viewing, then customers are likely to move on to a site they can easily read on their device.

You also need to be sure that you’re providing quality content, and a lot of it. SEO experts are now recommending that you have posts with 2000+ words – that’s the content that keeps consumers engaged and has the greatest average of social shares.

You should also be providing visual content, like animated explainer videos, on your site. Including professional-quality videos on your website will keep visitors engaged longer, which improves your search engine rank.

Another important SEO strategy to implement this year, is the use of long-tail keywords. Long-tail keywords are keyword phrases that are very specific to what your company sells. It’s likely that fewer people will search using these precise phrases, but those who do use them, will be looking for exactly what you offer. This means not only will you get more traffic to your website, you’ll also have a higher conversion rate.

Build Engagement

It certainly would be nice for new customers to simply stumble upon your website and make a quick decision to buy, but we all know that’s a fairy tale B2B. Before customers make a purchasing decision, companies must go to where the customers are and actively engage with them.

Social media is a great way to build rapport with potential clients. People naturally go online to talk about their shopping experiences; they share it all—the good, bad, and the ugly.

By monitoring and responding to what consumers say about competitors, you can improve your company’s image, refine your own product/service, and provide one that better fits the needs of potential clients.

You can also use social media to build a community focused specifically on the experiences of your own customers. If clients feel like they can easily engage with you online, this helps to build a relationship.

Providing an online community is a great way to engage consumers, build on that relationship, and increase brand loyalty.

Develop Partnerships

We live in a world where connections matter. With our current global economy, it’s impossible for a business to thrive in isolation. Developing strategic partnerships is absolutely vital if you want to employ the most effective B2B customer acquisition strategies and reach more people.

Partnerships like these are a great way to gain exposure. You’ve likely seen many different examples of this online.

For example, a group of online marketers who offer similar or complementary products/services may decide to collaborate on a project, such as an online seminar. Each individual marketer will offer the seminar to their current customers, which will then broaden the exposure of everyone in the collaboration.

You should be actively seeking out like-minded companies to build relationships with. These connections don’t have to be made solely online; they’re just as effective offline as well.

Don’t limit yourself to either/or.

Make a point of networking at local and regional events in addition to finding connections online.

Focus On What Works

The B2B customer acquisition strategies listed above have been tested and proven to be effective. Which do you think will work best for your company? If you’re looking for a good company to partner with (especially one that can help you with your exposure), we’d love to talk!